NIE recovered £1.3 million from those responsible to cover repair costs.

The operator outlined the consequences of third party damage to the network as it warned people to take the necessary safety precautions when working in the vicinity of overhead lines and underground electricity cables.

Roy Coulter, NIE director of health and safety, stressed the dangers involved in working near electricity equipment without the necessary information and precautions.

"Every year we highlight the dangers involved, and every year people are injured because they do not follow the correct safety guidelines," he said.

"Any contact with live electricity equipment can result in a fatality and contractors must follow correct safety procedures to keep all those on site safe.

"In the last year there have been 19 potentially fatal injuries following contact with the electricity network, all of them avoidable. NIE puts safety at the heart of all our operations - it is time for everyone working near electricity equipment to do the same."